Research/record/remake’ takes its inspiration from 3 examples of 'unsanctioned cultural activity' [mark making/graffiti] at 3 different archaeologically and geologically renowned sites that form part of the wider Cornish mining World Heritage site. They are to be found within a 2 mile stretch on the North coast of West Penwith, Cornwall. These groups, starting with the most westerly are to be found at Botallack, Levant and Geevor tin mines. This project started with a desire to create a visual debate that engages with issues of what we do and don’t preserve, how we present them and what the implications of this are. Further to this was an interest in investigating different ways of presenting visual research to assist in a tangible way and underpin the importance of graffiti as a relevant cultural activity [retrospectively perhaps] and the interpreting of social contexts at historical sites. To do this I have explored other ways of recording and presenting visual research about cultural activity in the landscape by using site specific, remade visual presentations and photographic documents accumulated through the process of non invasive conventional research methods and techniques. The background for this work emerged from my experiences working as a warden from 1999 to 2002 for the National Trust on the North coast of West Penwith, Cornwall. The areas I covered stretched from Levant and Botallack down to Maen cliff at Sennen, lands end. Part of my responsibility during this time was the management, maintenance and interpretation of archaeological sites from ancient cairns to various sites of industrial archaeology. Much in the same way as archaeologists may approach an archaeological dig; I set out to take on the documenting this graffiti through careful and non intrusive means, in order to record it for posterity. The graffiti is now is a poor state of repair and some of it barely visible. In some cases just a vague outline of grains of spray paint exists. More than one is non existent. Through accessing the records Adam Sharp an archaeologist working for the Historic Environment, I have been able to more accurately pinpoint the form of the missing letters. I began this process in 2005 , returning in 2007 to the project with digital recording equipment to try to initially sketch out the outline of the text and reproduce it and to capture the environment in which it exists. Using digital photo software to re enhance the images to limit further pressure on the graffiti by avoiding the physical demarcation of the outline of the text. The projects eventual form emerged solely as a visual archive which was then presented at an event where the images were projected onto the cliff top site.

The Dressing Floor Group

DRUGS: detail from the dressing floor. Botallack, West Penwith, Cornwal